Earth Intruders
Encyclopedia
"Earth Intruders" is a song written and recorded by Iceland
ic singer Björk
. The song was released as the first single from her sixth full-length studio album, Volta
. The single was released digitally
in the USA on 9 April and 21 April 2007 and in Europe on 28 April 2007. It is produced by R&B
record producer
Timbaland
and his protégé Danja. The single was released in a physical box set on 4 February 2008. It remains Björk's biggest hit single in the United States to date.
through an article in The Guardian
on March 11, 2007. On March 26, 2007, a distorted sample of the song was uploaded to the YouTube
video sharing website as part of the viral marketing
campaign for the Volta album. A fifteen second sample of the track then appeared on the Rhino Records online ringtone website on April 1, 2007. The purchased ringtone featured a different clip (with different lyrics) to the one used in the online preview on the site; both audio samples were subsequently spread across music forums
. On April 3, 2007 it was reported that the Björk section of the Rhino Records online ringtone store had been removed. After a broadcast of the song on the internet radio station
WOXY on April 6, 2007 the song was made widely available across file-sharing networks
.
On April 7, 2007, the "Mark Stent
Extended Edit" was released on the Australian iTunes Store
; most other iTunes Stores made the single available on April 9, the official release date of the digital single. The album version of Earth Intruders (which differs from the iTunes Store version both in terms of mixing
and track length) was leaked to the internet on April 24, 2007 due to the full album being made available accidentally on the UK iTunes Store on April 23, 2007 for a total of six hours, two weeks before the album's official release date.
reviewer Mike Diver gave the song 9/10, praising it as "immediately catchy, compellingly left of centre, and undeniably unique". Digital Spy
reviewer Miriam Zendle cited "Earth Intruders" as returning to Björk's earlier commercial sound, comparing it to her more recent albums that were "incredibly difficult to grasp hold of". Music website Popjustice
called it the 80th greatest single of 2007.
for "Earth Intruders" was directed by Michel Ocelot
and is his first for Björk, or indeed anyone else. It features Björk's face floating in the background, first upside down, then upright, singing with her eyes closed. In the foreground, a large group of silhouette
d tribal warriors dance in time to the music. The video features psychedelic
colours and patterns imposed on an earthy backdrop. The video ends with Björk's face slowly fading into the middle of a glade, her eyes being opened just as she sings the last lyric. Ocelot stated that Björk had originally wanted Kirikou (the child-hero of Ocelot's Kirikou and the Sorceress
and Kirikou et les bêtes sauvages
) to be featured as a 20 year-old in the video. It was accomplished within strict time constraints through a combination of live-action, silhouette animation
, 3D computer graphics
, traditional animation
, cut-outs
and other special effect
s. "Kirikou" was danced by Legrand Bemba-Debert in a costume made, based on Ocelot's ideas, by paper sculptor
Anne-Lise Kœhler.
An exclusive preview was shown during the "Le Grand journal" show on French TV channel Canal+
on 17 April 2007. The full video was made available in the iTunes Store
on April 24, 2007. It is also viewable on Björk's official MySpace page and included in letterbox
ed 576p
"PAL" format on both the "Earth Intruders" and "Les Trésors cachés de Michel Ocelot" DVD-Video
s and in 480-line, "NTSC" format in the Voltaïc
box set. It was nominated for the 2007 Q Award
for Best Video.
"Earth Intruders – Club Mixes" EP
was released on the iTunes Store in the US/UK on May 21, 2007. The European iTunes release contained only three of the original five tracks. It is only the second time (the first being Play Dead
) that an instrumental of a Björk track has been officially released. With this release, it was determined that "Earth Intruders" would have no physical release in any territory worldwide. Also, the Mark Stent mix was initially labelled as an "Extended Edit", but on May 23, 2007, was retitled to "Radio Edit"; the "xxxChange Mix" was retitled from the previous non-descriptive title "Earth Intruders Remix".
The European iTunes Store release omitted the tracks "Mark Stent Radio Edit" and "Lexx Edit."
comedy
-variety show
Saturday Night Live
in promotion of the album. She performed the songs "Earth Intruders" and "Wanderlust." On June 8, 2007 (recorded on June 5, 2007), Björk performed, along with her tour musicians, on the UK television show Later With Jools Holland
for the fifth time in her solo career. She performed "Earth Intruders," "The Anchor Song," and "Declare Independence
." Björk has also performed the song on every show of the worldwide Volta tour, usually as the very first song played after she enters the stage. Björk's set at Glastonbury Festival
was broadcast on BBC Four
on 22 June 2007, with "Earth Intruders" being the first song of the concert.
, while the remix EP later released charted on its own at #150. In the United States, the song debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
at number 84 in the issue dated April 28, 2007. This is Björk's highest position on the U.S. Hot 100, the previous being "Big Time Sensuality
" in 1993
, which peaked at number 88. The single's very modest success on the U.S. charts has been mainly attributed to internet downloads; the single sold 16,000 downloads on the week of its release, propelling it to number 65 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Digital Tracks
. The song also peaked at number 75 on the U.S. Billboard Pop 100
.
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic singer Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
. The song was released as the first single from her sixth full-length studio album, Volta
Volta (album)
Volta is the seventh studio album by Icelandic musician Björk, released in May 2007. It was produced by Björk, Mark Bell, Timbaland and Danja. The music of Volta was a new style for Björk, focusing on similar sounding music combining African beats and other instruments with songs in tribute to Africa...
. The single was released digitally
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
in the USA on 9 April and 21 April 2007 and in Europe on 28 April 2007. It is produced by R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Timbaland
Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....
and his protégé Danja. The single was released in a physical box set on 4 February 2008. It remains Björk's biggest hit single in the United States to date.
Beginnings
The first mention of "Earth Intruders" as a song title was made on allaccess.com on March 10, 2007, and was later confirmed as the lead singleLead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
through an article in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
on March 11, 2007. On March 26, 2007, a distorted sample of the song was uploaded to the YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
video sharing website as part of the viral marketing
Viral marketing
Viral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz are buzzwords referring to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses...
campaign for the Volta album. A fifteen second sample of the track then appeared on the Rhino Records online ringtone website on April 1, 2007. The purchased ringtone featured a different clip (with different lyrics) to the one used in the online preview on the site; both audio samples were subsequently spread across music forums
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
. On April 3, 2007 it was reported that the Björk section of the Rhino Records online ringtone store had been removed. After a broadcast of the song on the internet radio station
Internet radio
Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...
WOXY on April 6, 2007 the song was made widely available across file-sharing networks
Peer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads among peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the application...
.
On April 7, 2007, the "Mark Stent
Mark Stent
Mark 'Spike' Stent is a British record producer, and audio engineer who has worked with The KLF, Björk, Keane, Depeche Mode, Muse, Erasure, Hard-Fi, Massive Attack, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Marilyn Manson, Pet Shop Boys, Dave Matthews, No Doubt/Gwen Stefani, CSS, Beth Orton,...
Extended Edit" was released on the Australian iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
; most other iTunes Stores made the single available on April 9, the official release date of the digital single. The album version of Earth Intruders (which differs from the iTunes Store version both in terms of mixing
Audio mixing (recorded music)
In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
and track length) was leaked to the internet on April 24, 2007 due to the full album being made available accidentally on the UK iTunes Store on April 23, 2007 for a total of six hours, two weeks before the album's official release date.
Background
In an interview on mtv.com Björk talked about the background of the song.Critical reception
"Earth Intruders" got favourable reception by music critics. Drowned in SoundDrowned in Sound
DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...
reviewer Mike Diver gave the song 9/10, praising it as "immediately catchy, compellingly left of centre, and undeniably unique". Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
reviewer Miriam Zendle cited "Earth Intruders" as returning to Björk's earlier commercial sound, comparing it to her more recent albums that were "incredibly difficult to grasp hold of". Music website Popjustice
Popjustice
Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 and is the work of UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for NME, The Guardian, Attitude and many others....
called it the 80th greatest single of 2007.
Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Earth Intruders" was directed by Michel Ocelot
Michel Ocelot
Michel Ocelot is a French writer, character designer, storyboard artist and director of animated films and television programs and a former president of the International Animated Film Association...
and is his first for Björk, or indeed anyone else. It features Björk's face floating in the background, first upside down, then upright, singing with her eyes closed. In the foreground, a large group of silhouette
Silhouette
A silhouette is the image of a person, an object or scene consisting of the outline and a basically featureless interior, with the silhouetted object usually being black. Although the art form has been popular since the mid-18th century, the term “silhouette” was seldom used until the early decades...
d tribal warriors dance in time to the music. The video features psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
colours and patterns imposed on an earthy backdrop. The video ends with Björk's face slowly fading into the middle of a glade, her eyes being opened just as she sings the last lyric. Ocelot stated that Björk had originally wanted Kirikou (the child-hero of Ocelot's Kirikou and the Sorceress
Kirikou and the Sorceress
Kirikou and the Sorceress is a 1998 Franco-Belgian animated film written and directed by Michel Ocelot. Drawn directly from West African folk tales, it tells of how a newborn boy saves his village by ridding them of the evil witch Karaba...
and Kirikou et les bêtes sauvages
Kirikou et les bêtes sauvages
is a 2005 French animated feature film. It premiered at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival on 13 May and, unlike its predecessor, received only festival screenings in all English-speaking territories...
) to be featured as a 20 year-old in the video. It was accomplished within strict time constraints through a combination of live-action, silhouette animation
Silhouette animation
Silhouette animation is animation in which the characters are only visible as black silhouettes. This is usually accomplished by backlighting articulated cardboard cut-outs, though other methods exist...
, 3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
, traditional animation
Traditional animation
Traditional animation, is an animation technique where each frame is drawn by hand...
, cut-outs
Cutout animation
Cutout animation is a technique for producing animations using flat characters, props and backgrounds cut from materials such as paper, card, stiff fabric or even photographs...
and other special effect
Special effect
The illusions used in the film, television, theatre, or entertainment industries to simulate the imagined events in a story are traditionally called special effects ....
s. "Kirikou" was danced by Legrand Bemba-Debert in a costume made, based on Ocelot's ideas, by paper sculptor
Soft sculpture
Soft sculpture is a type of sculpture made using cloth, foam rubber, plastic, paper, fibers and similar material that are supple and nonrigid....
Anne-Lise Kœhler.
An exclusive preview was shown during the "Le Grand journal" show on French TV channel Canal+
Canal+
Canal+ is a French premium pay television channel launched in 1984. It is 80% owned by the Canal+ Group, which in turn is owned by Vivendi SA. The channel broadcasts several kinds of programming, mostly encrypted...
on 17 April 2007. The full video was made available in the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
on April 24, 2007. It is also viewable on Björk's official MySpace page and included in letterbox
Letterbox
Letterboxing is the practice of transferring film shot in a widescreen aspect ratio to standard-width video formats while preserving the film's original aspect ratio. The resulting videographic image has mattes above and below it; these mattes are part of the image...
ed 576p
576p
576p is the shorthand name for a video display resolution. The p stands for progressive scan, i.e. non-interlaced, the 576 for a vertical resolution of 576 lines, usually with a horizontal resolution of 720 or 704 pixels. The frame rate can be given explicitly after the letter.-576p25:In other...
"PAL" format on both the "Earth Intruders" and "Les Trésors cachés de Michel Ocelot" DVD-Video
DVD-Video
DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVD discs, and is currently the dominant consumer video format in Asia, North America, Europe, and Australia. Discs using the DVD-Video specification require a DVD drive and a MPEG-2 decoder...
s and in 480-line, "NTSC" format in the Voltaïc
Voltaic
Voltaïc refers to five separate releases of related material from singer-songwriter Björk's sixth studio album Volta. The full version of the release will include a CD of 11 songs performed live at the Olympic Studios, a DVD of Björk's live performances in Paris and Reykjavík during the Volta tour,...
box set. It was nominated for the 2007 Q Award
Q Awards
The Q Awards are the UK's annual music awards run by the music magazine Q. Since they began in 1990, the Q Awards have become one of Britain's biggest and best publicised music awards, helped in no small part by the often boisterous behavior of the celebrities who attend the event...
for Best Video.
Club Mixes EP
A digital-onlyOnline music store
An online music store is an online business which sells audio files, usually music, on a per-song and/or subscription basis. It may be differentiated from music streaming services in that the music store offers the actual music file, while streaming services offer partial or full listening without...
"Earth Intruders – Club Mixes" EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
was released on the iTunes Store in the US/UK on May 21, 2007. The European iTunes release contained only three of the original five tracks. It is only the second time (the first being Play Dead
Play Dead (song)
"Play Dead" is a song by Icelandic singer Björk, and was released as the third single from her 1993 album Debut.-Background:It is a dark piece underscored by moody strings with lyrics about acting numb to prevent emotional pain....
) that an instrumental of a Björk track has been officially released. With this release, it was determined that "Earth Intruders" would have no physical release in any territory worldwide. Also, the Mark Stent mix was initially labelled as an "Extended Edit", but on May 23, 2007, was retitled to "Radio Edit"; the "xxxChange Mix" was retitled from the previous non-descriptive title "Earth Intruders Remix".
- Mark StentMark StentMark 'Spike' Stent is a British record producer, and audio engineer who has worked with The KLF, Björk, Keane, Depeche Mode, Muse, Erasure, Hard-Fi, Massive Attack, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Marilyn Manson, Pet Shop Boys, Dave Matthews, No Doubt/Gwen Stefani, CSS, Beth Orton,...
Radio Edit 4:26 - xxxchangeSpank RockSpank Rock is an American hip-hop group consisting of rapper Naeem Juwan and producer Alex Epton . Their style is generally described as a mix of underground alternative rap and electro and rock.- Biography :...
Mix 4:38 - Lexx Remix 6:40
- Lexx Edit 4:05
- Mark Stent Radio Edit Instrumental 4:29
The European iTunes Store release omitted the tracks "Mark Stent Radio Edit" and "Lexx Edit."
Limited Edition Release
A limited edition "multiformat" box set was released at the beginning of February 2008 with slightly different artwork. The box set consists of a sticker-sealed fold out box with five nesting boxes containing two 12" vinyl singles, a CD and a DVD in colored paper sleeves.12-inch vinyl 1
- Side A. "Earth Intruders" (xxxchange Remix)
- Side B. "Earth Intruders" (Jimmy Douglas Mix)
12-inch vinyl 2
- Side C. "Earth Intruders" (Lexx 12" Remix)
- Side D. "Earth Intruders" (Mark Stent Mix)
CD
- "Earth Intruders" (Extended Mark "Spike" Stent Mix)
- "Earth Intruders" (Jimmy Douglas Mix)
- "Earth Intruders" (Lexx Remix Radio Edit)
- "Earth Intruders" (xxxchange Remix)
- "Earth Intruders" (Lexx 12" Remix)
Performances
On April 21, 2007, a barefooted Björk appeared as musical guest on an episode of the U.S.United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
-variety show
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
in promotion of the album. She performed the songs "Earth Intruders" and "Wanderlust." On June 8, 2007 (recorded on June 5, 2007), Björk performed, along with her tour musicians, on the UK television show Later With Jools Holland
Later with Jools Holland
Later... with Jools Holland is a contemporary British music television show hosted by Jools Holland. A spin-off of The Late Show, it has been running in short series since 1992 and is a part of BBC Two's late-night line-up, usually at around 11pm to 12 midnight...
for the fifth time in her solo career. She performed "Earth Intruders," "The Anchor Song," and "Declare Independence
Declare Independence
"Declare Independence" is an industrial-nu metal song written and recorded by Icelandic singer Björk. The track was released as the third single from her sixth full-length studio album, Volta. The single was released on January 1, 2008...
." Björk has also performed the song on every show of the worldwide Volta tour, usually as the very first song played after she enters the stage. Björk's set at Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
was broadcast on BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
on 22 June 2007, with "Earth Intruders" being the first song of the concert.
Charts
"Earth Intruders" reached number 67 on the UK Official Download ChartUK Official Download Chart
The UK Official Download Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company on behalf of the music industry. The chart week runs from Sunday to Saturday, with the chart being published on a Wednesday afternoon, so as to not to clash with the release of the main UK Singles Chart...
, while the remix EP later released charted on its own at #150. In the United States, the song debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
at number 84 in the issue dated April 28, 2007. This is Björk's highest position on the U.S. Hot 100, the previous being "Big Time Sensuality
Big Time Sensuality
"Big Time Sensuality" is a song by Björk, released as the fourth single from her 1993 album Debut. The song helped boost Björk's popularity worldwide, particularly the U.S., where she charted for the first time.-Background:...
" in 1993
1993 in music
This is a summary of significant events in music in 1993.-January–February:*January 8 – The U.S. Postal Service issues an Elvis Presley stamp. The design was voted on in February 1992....
, which peaked at number 88. The single's very modest success on the U.S. charts has been mainly attributed to internet downloads; the single sold 16,000 downloads on the week of its release, propelling it to number 65 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Digital Tracks
Hot Digital Tracks
The Hot Digital Tracks chart is a song popularity chart that ranks the best selling digital tracks in the United States according to Billboard magazine...
. The song also peaked at number 75 on the U.S. Billboard Pop 100
Pop 100
The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009...
.
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Wallonia) | 46 |
| Belgium (Flanders) | 48 |
| French Download Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
22 |
| French Airplay Top 100 | 90 |
| French Top 100 Singles | 64 |
| Greek Singles Chart | 18 |
| Japan Hot 100 Japan Hot 100 The Japan Hot 100 is a music singles chart in Japan. It is compiled by Billboard and Hanshin Contents Link ever since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at billboard-japan.com and every Thursday at billboard.com .... |
7 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
— |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
84 |
| U.S. Billboard Pop 100 Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009... |
75 |